Polyacetylene, (CH).sub.x, is a material which has become the focus of considerable interest because of its capacity to be rendered highly conductive by treatment with a variety of electron acceptor and donor `dopants`. The light weight and potential low cost associated with this polymeric material when combined with this novel property, high conductivity, suggests that it may be exploited in a variety of technological applications. Indeed, working p-n junctions, lightweight rechargable storage batteries and cells for photoenergy conversion have been constructed from this material. For a description of doped polyacetylene materials and their uses, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,903 issued to Heeger et al. on Sept. 16, 1980, the teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Unfortunately, polyacetylene suffers from a number of limitations with regard to its practical application. The principal problem addressed herein is the tendency of doped polyacetylene to lose its conductivity in the presence of moisture.
Prior art techniques for the stabilizing polyacetylene typically involve coating the material with a layer of wax or another polymer. The processes described to date work by excluding the reactive elements of the environment, oxygen and moisture. These processes therefore work by conferring to the doped polyacetylene the barrier properties of the second material. In this regard they have only the capacity to sustain observed properties. In no case known is the resulting property improved over that which can be sustained under inert conditions (under argon, nitrogen or other inert gas) or under vacuum.
It is important to point out that oxygen and water are believed to act as aggressive agents for doped polyacetylene by two different mechanisms. Oxygen literally oxidizes the polymer backbone to structures which can no longer sustain the transport of charge and consequently a decay in the conductivity is observed. Water on the other hand, is thought to react directly with the charge carriers as follows: EQU R++H.sub.2 O=R--OH+H+
Where R+ is a carbenium ion and is representative of doped, p-type (CH).sub.x.
The present interest in conductive polymers is due in large measure to their applications in batteries. Water would be highly desirable as an electrolyte medium in such applications due to its obvious low cost and non-toxicity. Therefore, successful attempts at delaying the deteriorating effects of water on the conductivity of doped, p-type (CH).sub.x would be of general interest.